The voting of Lebanese expatriates, which took place yesterday in Australia, Canada, the United States, and Brazil, gained additional significance due to the sectarian and political distribution of voters and their ability in those countries to influence the results, especially in the Third Northern District (Bsharri - Koura - Batroun - Zgharta), where the main competitors are the "Free Patriotic Movement" led by MP Gebran Bassil, the "Lebanese Forces" led by Samir Geagea, and the "Moustaqbal Movement" led by former Minister Sleiman Frangieh. These Christian political forces consider their leaders as presidential candidates.
Voters in Canada and the United States predominantly support the "Lebanese Forces" and the "Free Patriotic Movement." It appears that the largest number of registered expatriates were from the Maronite sect, totaling 77,457. The number of registered voters for Zgharta was 8,315, for Batroun 6,564, for Koura 6,122, and for Bsharri 6,114. Some candidates in the district heavily rely on votes from Australia, including the head of the "Independence Movement" and resigned MP Michel Mouawad, whose position was determined by the votes from Australia in the last elections. He was a significant ally of the "Free Patriotic Movement" in previous elections before resigning from its parliamentary bloc, and later from the council following the August 4, 2020 explosion. He is currently allied with Majd Botros Harb, who is experiencing his first electoral run, supported by the "Lebanese Phalange Party" led by resigned MP Sami Gemayel, after Harb withdrew from the coalition in the last elections with "Moustaqbal" and the "Syrian Social Nationalist Party."
Supporters of the "Free Patriotic Movement" and the "Lebanese Forces" are also present in Australia, where voters cast their ballots in 47 polling stations distributed across nine centers. The number of voters exceeds 20,600, with around 17,000 in Sydney. Polling stations in Australia closed yesterday afternoon according to Beirut time. Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib announced that 11,321 voters cast their ballots in Australia, representing 54.83 percent, with 9,021 voters in Sydney, while Canberra recorded the lowest turnout at 40 percent, and Melbourne recorded a turnout of 55 percent, bringing the overall turnout in Australia to about 55 percent. Some Lebanese voters in Australia complained about the slow voting process at certain polling stations, which might sometimes be due to the insufficient training of the heads of the stations on the voting process.
In Brazil, the majority of voters politically align with the "Free Patriotic Movement" and the "Lebanese Phalange," while in Canada and the United States, the division mainly lies between the "Free Patriotic Movement" and the "Lebanese Forces." Polling stations were opened in the Americas yesterday afternoon Beirut time, with 44 polling stations opened across 16 centers in 11 US states, while in the Canadian capital Ottawa and three provinces—Toronto, Montreal, and Windsor—66 polling stations were opened across six centers. Polling stations were also opened in three countries in Latin America and four US states, and one polling station in one center in Colombia.
The number of registered voters in North America reached 56,578 Lebanese, which is 25.13 percent of expatriate Lebanese. Of those registered in North America, 32.91 percent belong to the Maronite sect, followed by the Orthodox sect with 14.6 percent, and the Sunni sect with 14.59 percent. It was found that voters returning to the Fourth Mount Lebanon District (Shouf - Aley) represent 12.90 percent of the total registered in this continent, followed by the Third Northern District (Batroun – Koura – Zgharta - Bsharri) at 12.63 percent, and Beirut II at 9.97 percent.
